Publisher – Spectral press

Published – Out Now

Price – can be found as part of The Dark Masters collection £2.99 ebook via PS Publishing

1971. A middle-aged man, wracked with grief, walks along the beach at Whitstable in Kent... A boy approaches him and, taking him for the famous vampire-hunter Doctor Van Helsing from the Hammer movies, asks for his help. Because he believes his stepfather really is a vampire...So begins the moving and evocative new novella by Stephen Volk, published by the British Fantasy Award-nominated Spectral Press in May 2013 to coincide with the centenary of the most celebrated and beloved of Hammer's stars, Peter Cushing.

Fictional heroes we see on screen are powerful. They inspire us, make us see something we want to be and we tend to hope just hope they can be real. Which makes when we see the actor outside of that role unusual. Do our screen heroes have it in them to be a hero? In Stephen Volk’s remarkable horror novella Whitstable, we watch as a grieving man is asked to help protect a child from monsters by the child himself who knows the man as Van Helsing while for the rest of us; he is better known as Peter Cushing.

In 1971 Peter Cushing is wrestling with the death of his wife Helen. Cutting himself off from friends, his career and anyone who knows him. This is difficult in the small coastal town of Whitstable as he and Helen were prominent figures. His desire to further be alone though, is hampered by meeting Carl a young fan who hasn’t realised Cushing is just an actor and instead believes him to be Van Helsing. A monster has inserted themselves into Carl’s home as her boyfriend and Carl needs help. Cushing has to decide does he want and is he even capable of helping a confused child but monsters may indeed be real.

This could easily have been a twee tale but take Peter Cushing out of it and you’d have a very effective sombre horror tale that explores grief and also taking a stand. Volk creates a tale packed with atmosphere in what feels an off-peak seaside town that feels grey and oppressive. The horror here is not necessarily supernatural but in more ways that makes the tale more chilling especially in a time where people felt children should be more seen and not heard. Cushing’s initial attempt to find out if there is truth to Carl’s story opens up various dark secrets surrounding a man named Gledhill who is slippery, malevolent, and yet also we may find despite all his deeds understandable. Rather than action this is a tale of confrontations using words and a degree of performance. Cushing is an actor and the ability to channel and observe a person helps make him a useful investigator and also later on interrogator in a very tense scene where Gledwill and he both watch a horror movie and match wits and threats.

But his is also a tale about Peter Cushing and Volk makes him human and also extols the many fine performances he has delivered. There is an exhilarating section outlining the frenetic finale of Dracula (a personal fave of mine); various moments of a long film carer but also a very touching look at the man behind the character. Someone who struggled to find fame until later than many; who found himself having to deal with a terminally ill wife and now dealing with grief. Volk makes you feel the wound of losing a partner and trying to work out can you move on or even function as a human being anymore as we see him lose weight, unshaven and most of all losing his manners – he isn’t the gentleman we know and love. Just as much as Carl needs saving so does Cushing and that makes the tale have an unusual human dimension that really makes it work as a tale to pull the reader in.

Whitstable is a very fine horror tale and also a fitting tribute to one of Horror’s greatest charcter actors (plus of course a Doctor!) that can be unsettling, despairing and uplifting. I loved it and suspect anyone with a knowledge of this time and this particular career will find much to love about it. Highly recommended!